Perast: The beautiful village and its floating churches set in the fjord of the kotor bay

Just a little over 10km along the coast from Kotor is a beautifully tiny town called Perast. We had been advised by a few people to take the short trip on the bus to this town, mainly because of the two small islands situated just off the coastline.

Despite Perast’s size with it only having one main street, the town still boasts 17 churches! The scenery surrounding this town is seriously stunning, it’s no wonder Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones decided to purchase a holiday home there.

History

The main attraction of Perast are the twin islands that lie just off the coast of the town which are called St. George and Our Lady of the rocks. The St. George island is naturally formed and has a small church which was built in the 12th century, whereas Our Lady on the rocks is an artificial island with a legend surrounding it. From the reef which was 1m above the surface of the water, the people of Perast had been throwing rocks along with old shipwrecks for around 200 years which eventually created a plateau of 3,030 square meters.

A church was then built atop of this artificial island. For centuries the church had received donations and now it is a type of gallery or treasury of various objects, some of which being 68 oil paintings and 2,500 golden and silver votive tablets, these were donated by the people from the Kotor bay area in order to avoid various human disasters.

Our visit

After doing pretty much everything there was to do in Kotor, we decided we would take peoples advice and have a day in Perast.The weather was beautiful in the morning so we decided to pack our swimming costumes, because since our travels started we had wanted so much to take a refreshing dip in the sea.

We took the bus mid morning so we could have most of the day there to explore and also chill out in the sea! The bus journey itself was amazing, driving along the coastline for just short of 30 minutes just soaking in the stunning views of this immense Fjord was incredible, we knew we was in for a great day.

Once we arrived in Perast we just stood there for a few seconds and marvelled at the stunning surroundings and how beautiful the architecture was. For such a small place it was buzzing with energy, the main street that runs along the coast has a number of cafes and restaurants that were full of people relaxing and enjoying the views.

We first explored the town which didn’t take too long as it’s very small, but you certainly get the feel of the rich history of this place with it’s beautiful architecture and the many churches that you come across.

We decided not to do a boat trip over to the islands and instead find a good spot along the bay to spend some time relaxing and swimming in the sea, something we had needed to do after a couple of months of tiring travel. After frantically getting changed into our swimming costumes behind some rickety old wooden hut in the fear that the people near us could see, we edged our way slowly into the water. The water was much colder than we’d anticipated. We had envisioned ourselves having a lovely day swimming around the bay, but instead we could only cope with a few minutes in the water. It was definitely nice and refreshing though.

Once we had finished swimming it was time to head back to Kotor. Perast isn’t a very big place but it is certainly worth a visit if you are staying in Kotor, and in hindsight it would have been nice to take the boat trip over to the islands but maybe the 15 euros each we would have had to pay put us off doing it as well. We also would have still been craving some much needed chill out time somewhere else along the way.

How to get there

We took the blue line bus which stops just outside the Kotor walls next to a small park with benches that are set back. The bus arrives there 15 minutes past every hour and costs only 1 euro which can be paid on the bus. The return bus departs Perast at 30 minutes past every hour. On sundays the buses run every 2 hours which leaves Kotor 15 minutes past every uneven hour and 30 minutes past every uneven hour when returning.

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Meet The Roaming Renegades

We are Nic and Paul, The Roaming Renegades! A married couple who are quitting the 9-5 for a life of travel & adventure. We are leaving behind the "normal" way of living in which we are conditioned into giving away our best years for a retirement which may never happen. Live for today we say! Our travelling style is to see the world through alternative perspectives, getting off the beaten track, going on wild adventures and participating in some "Dark Tourism!"
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